April 18 (Bloomberg) -- German stocks retreated for a fifth
day, with the benchmark DAX Index posting its longest losing
streak in 10 months, as U.S. data on leading economic indicators
and Philadelphia-area manufacturing missed estimates.

The DAX Index lost 0.4 percent to 7,473.73 at the close of
trading in Frankfurt, having earlier climbed as much as 0.7
percent. The equity benchmark has lost 1.8 percent this year
after yesterday falling the most since Feb. 4. The broader HDAX
Index also fell 0.4 percent today.

“The U.S. economic indicators were worse than expected
which always seems to spook markets,” Felicity Smith, a fund
manager at Bedlam Asset Management Plc in London, wrote in an e
mail. “As an export-dependent market, Germany is sensitive to
economic data from the rest of the world.”

About 8 percent of German exports are sold to the U.S.,
according to data from the Federal Statistics Office in
Wiesbaden.

In the U.S., the index of leading indicators unexpectedly
declined in March for the first time in seven months. The
Conference Board’s gauge of the outlook for the next three to
six months fell 0.1 percent in March after climbing 0.5 percent
in the prior two months. The median forecast of economists
surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.1 percent increase.

Philadelphia Manufacturing

Manufacturing in the Philadelphia region expanded in April
at a slower pace than projected. The Federal Reserve Bank of
Philadelphia’s general economic index fell to 1.3 in April from
2 the prior month. Readings greater than zero signal expansion.
The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called
for a gain to 3.

Applications for jobless insurance payments in the U.S.
rose by 4,000 to 352,000 in the week ended April 13, in line
with the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

German lawmakers approved a rescue for Cyprus as Finance
Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned that refusing aid to a fifth
crisis-ravaged state risked triggering a sovereign default and
contagion to other euro nations.

Lufthansa retreated 2.5 percent to 13.98 euros. Labor union
Ver.di said after the market closed yesterday that the airline’s
offer of a 1.2 percent pay increase in 2013 and a 0.5 percent
pay rise in 2014 was not enough to satisfy its 5.2 percent pay
demand. More strikes at Europe’s second-largest carrier can now
be expected, Ver.di said.

Volkswagen Declines

Preferred shares of Volkswagen extended their decline,
falling 2.1 percent to 138.50 euros. Volkswagen lost 2.9 percent
yesterday after the Brussels-based European Automobile
Manufacturers’ Association, or ACEA, said European car
registrations in March fell 10 percent, led by Germany’s auto
market, which plummeted 17 percent.

Solarworld AG tumbled 28 percent to 67 euro cents, its
lowest price since December 2003, after forecasting a 2012 net
loss of 520 million euros ($678 million) to 550 million euros
under local accounting rules, mainly on writedowns on stakes in
and loans to units and affiliates. Equity capital will be about
minus 20 million euros to minus 50 million euros, Germany’s
biggest solar-panel maker said in a statement.